Rock crystal has long attracted attention with its spring purity. This stone is a clear, colorless variety of quartz. In ancient times, it was believed that crystals were frozen ice. Jewelers valued it for its hardness and carved amulets and jewelry from the stone, creating true works of art. In the Kremlin, in the Armory Chamber, you can see one of the masterpieces - the samovar of Peter I, carved from a single piece of rock.
Today's jewelers also do not ignore this transparent mineral. Quite often you can find inexpensive jewelry where its analogues are used instead of natural stone. Therefore, if you are going to buy rock crystal, you need to be able to distinguish a fake.
Rock crystal: description and characteristics
Rock crystal is one of the most beautiful and pure minerals. It has been known since ancient times and symbolized innocence, purity and spiritual purity.
The name translated means “ice”. Crystal is transparent and always cold to the touch. Rock crystal jewelry helps you better withstand the heat.
Helpful information
Basically, the crystals of this gem are transparent and colorless, but can have a pink, lilac or golden hue. They transmit ultraviolet light and have a glassy sheen.
Crystals may also have smoky inclusions and stripes.
Varieties of rock crystal
There are several varieties of rock crystal, and they differ primarily in color:
- Amethyst. It is a purple, veined, smoky stone. It has magical properties, treats alcohol addiction and has a positive effect on the psyche.
- Smoky quartz. Brown gem with a smoky pattern.
- Morion. Black or brown.
- Yellow citrine. This is a rare yellow variety.
- Quartz hairy. A white, smoky gem with golden veins that look like hair. Also called "hair of Venus".
Properties and applications of crystal
Mountain gems are successfully used for the production of jewelry, dishes, magical attributes and decorative items. Magical elements are in particular demand. Surely, you have seen that many magicians and psychics have a magic ball. It just consists of rock crystal. The mineral is also used in lithotherapy. Massagers are made from it.
Physicochemical characteristics
Rock crystal is a silicate and belongs to quartz. Its chemical formula is SiO2. It is distinguished by an uneven fracture, and sometimes even conchoidal. The cleavage is diamond-shaped, unclear. The crystal lattice of the stone is trigonal.
Among the components, in addition to silicon and oxygen, the mineral may contain impurities of iron, chlorine, manganese, etc. The color and type of stone depends on these particles. A crystal does not always have a homogeneous structure. In nature, gems with smoky patterns and needle-like inclusions are found.
Despite its high density (7 points on the mineralogical scale), the crystal is quite fragile and requires careful handling. If you hit it hard on a hard surface, it will crack and break.
Natural stones are completely transparent and have a glassy luster. After processing, some types of mineral acquire the ability to reflect color and shimmer in different shades. The gem has poor thermal conductivity. That is, it takes a long time to heat up if placed in a warm place (for example, squeezed in your hand).
Medicinal properties
Lithotherapists claim that rock crystal, regardless of color and variety, has many healing properties.
If you regularly carry it with you, you can solve the following health problems:
- Normalizes the state of the psyche. The stone is often used in meditation to receive its energy. During meditation, it is placed on the palm.
- Tissue restoration is accelerated. It is recommended to apply crystal to sore spots (abrasions, wounds or bruises).
- Cleansing the body of toxins and waste. For this purpose you need to prepare the mood. Place it in plain water for several hours. To increase the power of the talisman, it must be framed in silver. This infusion is also successfully used for weight loss or general health promotion.
- Decreased body temperature. Place the mineral on your forehead or heart area.
- Memory improvement. Carry the amulet with you regularly to improve brain function.
- Normalization of the work of all internal organs. To do this, they resort to massage, which is done with mountain stone balls.
- Helping a nursing mother produce milk. Just wear the crystal on your chest. It could be a pendant or beads.
- Cure for varicose veins. Apply it to problem areas from time to time.
- Reducing the risk of blood clots.
- Getting rid of radiculitis. Take baths infused with gemstone.
- If you often suffer from headaches, wear crystal earrings.
Magic properties
Our ancestors also actively used the mountain mineral to perform various magical rituals. Psychics also believe in its magical powers. Archaeologists have found a huge number of magical attributes made of crystal in different parts of the planet.
The crystal ball is the most powerful and popular magic amulet. With its help, magicians and psychics predict the future. But you need to prepare for this ritual. To begin with, the ball is placed in a dark place for several days, and then placed so that the sun hits it. With maximum concentration on the image of the mineral, you can see events that are yet to happen.
Attention! Even if you haven’t noticed your psychic abilities, a charged gem will help in their development.
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Publication from Chikindina Inna (@chikina_78) April 14, 2021 at 7:58 PDT
Rhinestone symbolizes logic, common sense and maximum concentration. It also helps with studying, so it should be worn by schoolchildren and students. Crystal will also not hurt those whose activities are related to mental processes. The stone is also used to communicate with spirits and various otherworldly entities. This is because it can accumulate energy from other worlds.
It is also useful to place a mineral amulet at home to protect against aggressive natural elements (floods, fires, etc.). It also helps in family relationships: it returns former passion and love, prevents scandals.
If you often suffer from nightmares, you can put the mineral under your pillow. You will also be able to understand which dreams are prophetic and which were caused by your subconscious.
Types of fakes
Several other budget analogues are used to counterfeit gems:
- cubic zirconia Used as an imitation in high quality jewelry. This is a man-made substance used primarily in jewelry to replace many precious and semi-precious stones. It does not refract light as actively and looks perfectly transparent, so the differences are visible to the naked eye.
- Artificially created crystal. Usually it is simply glass with the addition of barium or lead oxides. This is the technology used to make Swarovski crystals. Although Swarovski crystals are relatively expensive, they are not natural and do not have magical or healing properties.
- Ordinary glass. Used in the manufacture of tableware and jewelry. Low quality fakes are made from it, which are the easiest to distinguish.
How to distinguish it from glass?
It is not difficult to distinguish natural crystal from glass; it is enough to know the properties of the mineral:
- A real gem is always cooler than ordinary glass. Also, the mineral heats up slowly and cools down quickly. Rock crystal jewelry will keep you cool even in hot weather.
- The natural mineral is very hard, it is very difficult to leave scratches and chips on it. A real stone can scratch glass, while glass cannot damage a mineral.
- Natural gems are stronger than glass, which is much easier to break.
- Glassware can crack if boiling water is poured into it, but products made from real stone are resistant to sudden temperature changes.
- Glass does not shine as much as a natural gem. They also have different light refraction properties. Light passing through a real mineral is scattered into numerous colored rays.
- When two products made of real mineral come into contact with each other, a characteristic melodic sound will be heard.
How to choose quality crystal
Many people are interested in how to identify crystal. To check the quality of the material, you should pay attention to the following:
- Strength parameters. A glass object is quickly subjected to mechanical stress and loses its original appearance. At the same time, natural crystal is difficult to scratch. Even the use of a hard sponge will not deteriorate the appearance of the product. It is also worth considering that glassware breaks into large fragments, and crystal into small ones.
- Structure of the material. To determine it, you should take a magnifying glass and examine the product under high-quality lighting. Crystal is completely transparent. It does not contain bubbles, cracks or clouding. Glass products often include small bubbles. They may also consist of darkening. This difference is due to the techniques used to make the tableware.
- Visualization effect. The glass is a kind of magnifier. If you look through a glass at any object, it will appear a little larger. You can recognize crystal glassware by its large refraction angle. In this case, the image turns out to be double.
- The sparkle of crystal. If you look at the dishes in the light, you can see that they play with rainbow highlights. This is more typical for models with edges. However, the glass does not shine like that. It is not characterized by refraction of rays.
- Price. This parameter is not always reliable. Making crystal is considered a very expensive process. However, glass products that have been made by hand can cost even more.
Crystal and glass have a number of differences. The difference lies in the structure, shine, and strength indicators. These parameters must be taken into account when purchasing crystal products. This will help you avoid purchasing a fake.
Cost of real and fakes
The cost of a natural mineral depends on the cut and purity of the stone. High-quality jewelry made from natural stone will cost more than cubic zirconia.
Jewelry made from natural gemstones is significantly more expensive than jewelry made from glass or artificial analogues.
Dishes and interior items made from natural minerals are highly valued and quite expensive. For example, a vase made of colorless crystal costs on average 6,000 rubles, and a vase made of handmade colored crystal costs about 20,000 rubles. While a glass vase costs from 400 rubles.
Budget analogues
Glass or plastic are often used as inexpensive alternatives. It is easy to identify plastic counterfeits at home - they are much lighter than natural stone, scratch easily and sound dull when struck.
Instead of natural inserts, synthetic analogues, as well as natural imitations, can be used in jewelry. Artificial stones are obtained as a result of the synthesis of metal oxides and have all the properties of real minerals, but are cheaper. It will not be possible to determine the authenticity of a crystal without an expert assessment if natural imitations are used. These are inserts that are obtained from waste from processing natural gems by gluing, pressing or alloying.
